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NORTHAMPTON 
HISTORICAL LOCALITIES 



ILLUSTRATED 



1654 ^ ^ at 1904 










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HISTORICAL LOCALITIES 



NORTHAMPTON 



COMPILED BY THE 



COMMITTEE ON HISTORICAL LOCALITIES 



Celebration of the 2Soth Anniversary of the 
Settlement of the Town, 

June sth, oth and 7th, 1Q04. 



''1 



H■dc^i^ 



Committee on Historical Localities. 



Henry S. Gere, Chairman. 



A. Lyman Williston, 
Joseph Marsh, 
George L, Wright, 
Chauncey E. Parsons, 
Henry R. Hinckley, 
David B. Whitcomb, 
Luther J. Warner, 
Joseph C. Williams, 



Charles H. Dickinson, 
Merritt Clark. 
Benjamin E. Cook, 
Sidney B. Bridgman, 
Oscar Edwards, 
Watson L, Smith, 
Luther C. Wright, 
Lewis D. Parsons. 



' 'y^'f^/" 



Gazette Printing Co., Northampton, Mass, 



V 

Brief Descriptions of Historical Localities. 



I. Northampton was first settled by white people in the 
spring of 1654, but its territory had been examined as a 
desirable place for a settlement several years before. It 
was then known only by the Indian name of Nonotuck. In 
May, 1653, (a year before the actual settlement.) twenty- 
four men petitioned the General Court for liberty to " plant, 
possess and inhabit" the place. All of these men were res- 
idents of Connecticut, most of them of Hartford, Windsor 
and Farmington. John Pynchon, Eliznr Holyoke and 
Samuel Chapin of Springfield also petitioned to the same 
effect at the same time. The General Court appointed 
Pynchon, Holyoke and Chapin commissioners to lay out 
the bounds of the proposed settlement, which they did, fix- 
ing the line to run from the Hadley falls ten miles north 
on the west side of the Connecticut river and westward 
from the Connecticut "nine miles into the woods." This 
included all the territory within the present limits of 
Northampton, Easthampton, Southampton and Westhamp- 
ton, and parts of Hatfield and Montgomery. The land 
was bought of the Indians by John Pynchon Sept. 23, 1653, 
and on Jan. 16, 1662, he turned it over to the inhabitants 
of Northampton, who allotted it among themselves, reserv- 
ing a large portion to be given to new-comers. The meadow 
lands were the most desirable and each settler was given a 
certain amount (usually about twenty acres,) with a liberal 
quantity of upland. The town took its name from North- 
ampton in England, and, though the Indian name was 
always Nonotuck, that name was never used by the set- 
tlers. The exact day on which the first settlers arrived 



6 

here is not known, nor is it known exactly where the first 
houses were built, but it is certain that the first arrivals 
were early in May, and it is presumed that they located 
their homes near "meeting-house hill." 

Nearly all the inhabitants of the town remained near the 
center for more than one hundred years. This was from 
fear of the Indians. After the close of the French and 
Indian war, in 17G0, the outer districts began to be settled. 
The first settlement at South Farms was made in 1GS7, but 
what is now Florence and North Farms was not settled 
until 1759. Roberts Meadow and West Farms were settled 
soon after, and " Rail Hill " (now Leeds) in 1790. Those 
sections were then covered with dense forests. 

The first settlers located on King, Pleasant, Market and 
Hawley streets. The sections next settled were Bridge, 
West and Elm streets. It was five years after the first set- 
tlers arrived before there was a house built as far west as 
the site of President Seelye's residence. For a great many 
years there were no streets here. What we now call streets 
were simply foot-paths from house to house. The farms 
were large and the houses were considerable distances 
apart. There was little of travel and what there was was 
either on foot or on horseback. The center of the settle- 
ment contained but a few buildings. Meeting-house hill 
was almost bare. Aside from the meeting-house there were 
for a long period of time no buildings nearer to it tlian the 
court-house and school-house at the junction of Main and 
King streets and the minister's house on the corner of 
Pleasant street. To the west there were after a time build- 
ings on the west corner of South street, where Ithamar 
Strong lived, and on Main street, opposite South street, 
where Gen. Seth Pomeroy lived. There was no building 
north of the meeting-house on or near the hill for a long 
time. The meeting-house stood there alone, like a city on 
a hill. The ground around it was all highway. There was 
a large open space at the junction of King and Pleasant 
streets with Main street, which was called "school house 
common." 



2. The first "meeting house," used for religious ser- 
vices, town meetings and schools, stood on the easterly side 
of " meeting-house hill," near the southeasterly corner of 
the present court-house lot. It was built of logs and was 
twenty-six feet long and eighteen feet wide, and was 
erected in the first year of the town's settlement. It was 
in use for religious meetings seven years. The second 
meeting-house was built in 1661, and was located on the 
top of "meeting-house hill," directly in front of the west- 
erly half of the present First Church and the entrance to 
Center street, that being the apex of the hill. Meeting- 
house hill was then several feet higher than it is now, and 
the ground at its base was several feet lower. The meeting- 
house was approached from all sides. A ravine ran around 
the hill from the west side, back of the present Mansion 
House, to King street, and thence across Main street to 
Pleasant street and in the rear of Shop Row to Mill 
river, below the old South street bridge. There have been 
five meeting-houses built on this hill — the first in 1654, a 
log house, 26 by 18 feet ; the second, in 1661, 42 feet square, 
pyramid roof, with a turret on top ; the third, in 1737, 70 
by 46 feet ; the fourth, known to the present generation as 
the " Old Church," in 1812 ; the fifth in 1876 ; the latter was 
damaged by fire in 1888 and immediately rebuilt, without 
essential change of plan. 

3- The first court house, erected in 17;^7, stood near the 
easterly corner of the present court house lot, south of and 
about opposite the present court house fountain. The 
present court house is the fourth building erected on that lot 
for court uses. 

4. The first school house, used exclusively for school 
purposes, stood on the easterly portion of meeting-house 
hill, easterly of the site of the present court house and 
farther down the hill, near the corner of court-house lot. 

5. The first store on Shop Row stood on the site of the 
present drug stores of C. B. Kingsley and L. S. Davis, 
built in 1769 by Dr. Ebenezer Hunt for a drug store. 



6. Jonathan Edwards preached here in two meeting- 
houses : he was settled in 1727, and the first house in which 
he preached was replaced by the one shown in the picture 




THE JONATHAN EDWARDS MEETING HOUSE. 

In which he preached. Built in 1737. Torn down 1812. 

in 1737. This house stood in Main street, opposite the 

westerly half of the present First church and entrance to 

Center street. It faced toward Bridge street. There were 



10 

three entrances, one in front (east) and one on each side 
(south and west). There were three aisles running north 
and south, and one on each end running east and west. 
The pulpit was- in the center on the north side, with a 
single stairway to it on the west side. Hanging over the 
pulpit was a large " sounding-board," which bore the date 
" 1735," denoting the date of the first vote to build. Two 
stairways led to the gallery, in the easterly and westerly 
corners. There was a tall steeple, with an open belfry, 
resting on eight posts. Surmounting the steeple was a 
weather vane, representing a rooster. A tower clock was 
put in soon after the house was erected. The house was 
torn down in 1812. This Jonathan Edwards meeting-house 
was built while the old meeting-house was still standing, 
showing that they did not occupy the same spot ; but they 
were near each other. The old house was torn down in 
1738, the year after the new house was occupied. 

The accompanying picture of the second meeting-house in 
which Jonathan Ed wards preached is believed to be accurate. 
It was made from a sketch drawn by Architect William F. 
Pratt about thirty years ago. The dimensions of the house 
and the belfry are matters of town record, as are also the 
porches. The rooster weather vane on the top of the 
steeple is shown just as it was when Edwards thundered 
forth his mighty appeals from the pulpit within, and the 
semi-circular stepstone is seen in front just as it was when 
placed there 167 years ago. The house was similar in form 
to the Congregational meeting-houses built in that period ; 
there is one much like it still standing in West Springfield. 
Mr. Pratt was aided in his drawing by some of the citizens 
of the town who were familiar with the appearance of the 
house in their youth, and they pronounced the sketch cor- 
rect. It corresponds with the plan of seating the meeting- 
house given in Trumbull's History. There can be no doubt 
that when you look at this picture you see the meeting- 
house just as it a]ipeared when Jonathan Edwards and 
Major Joseph Hawley entered its portals and walked 
through its broad aisle. 



12 

7- The house of the first minister of the town, Rev. 
Eleazar Mather, stood on the Avest corner of Main and 
Pleasant streets, and fronted on Pleasant street. Mr. 
Mather owned all the land now covered by Shop Row as 
far west as Merritt Clark's store. 

8. The first town house (used also for the courts) stood 
on the present court house lot, erected 1737. 

g. The first post-office (1792) was kept in the store of 
Robert Breck & Son, on the corner of Main and King 
streets, where the First National Bank now stands. Col. 
John Breck, son of Robert Breck, was the first postmaster. 

10. The first newspaper, the Hampshire Gazette, was 
printed (1786) in the back part of Benjamin Prescott's 
house, on the west corner of Main and Pleasant streets. 

11. The first bookstore in town was opened in 1797 by 
Simeon Butler, on Shop Row, where S. E. Bridgman & 
Co.'s bookstore now stands, and there has been a bookstore 
on that spot ever since. 

12. The site of the store of Phelps & Gare, jewelers, on 
Shop Row, was in 1785 occupied by Samuel Stiles, a gold- 
smith, and there has been a goldsmith's shop on that spot 
ever since. The late General Benjamin E. Cook was in 
business there from Jan. 10, 1827, until his death, Feb. 25, 
1900, more than seventy-three years. 

13. The first bank in town, the Northampton Bank, was 
opened in 1803, on the site of Merritt Clark's store on Shop 
Row. It was succeeded in 1813 by the Hampshire Bank. 

14. The first ferry between Northampton and Hadley 
was established in 1661, when Hadley was settled. This 
ferry connected Hadley at the lower end of Front street 
with " Old Rainbow," and for many years it was known as 
"Goodman's ferr3^" 

15. The first bridge over the Connecticut river here was 
built in 1808. The present county -bridge (the fifth) was 
built in 1878. 



13 

i6. The first Edwards church (1833) stood on the east- 
erly corner of Main and South streets, where Columbian 
block now stands. It was destroyed by fire in 1870. 

17. The first taverns were called "ordinaries." There 
was a tavern on the site of the present Mansion House kept 
by Col. Seth Pomeroy, and after him by his son, Asahel 
Pomeroy, and a tavern has been kept there ever since. 
There was a tavern, known as the "Red Tavern," on the 
site of the present Catholic church. Also, one on Hawley 




EAST CORNER MAIN AND KING STREETS, 1855. 

street, east side, where the Washburn house now stands, 
kept by Capt. Samuel Clarke ; one on the southerly corner 
of Pleasant and River streets, called the "American 
House ; " one on South street, on the site of the present 
Col. Calvin Strong house, corner of South and Fort streets ; 
rone on the west corner of North Elm street and the street 
leading to the car-barns, kept by Abner Hunt)^ one in Flor- 
ence, opposite the present Florence hotel, kept by Paul 
Strong, and known as " Paul Strong's ;" one about a mile 



14 

to the west, on the road to Williamsburg, kept by Solomon 
Warner, known as "Sol Warner's ;" one farther ou, half 
a mile east of Haydenville, on the old road to Northamp- 
ton, kept by Capt. Samuel Fairfield ; one at Roberts 
Meadow, on the turnpike road to Pittsfield, kept by Nathan- 
iel Edwards, who took the turnpike tolls ; and a number 
of others of lesser note in different parts of the town. 




RESIDENCE OF HENRY R. HINCKLEY, PROSPECT ST. 

Part of this house was built b}' Rev. Solomon Stoddard in 1684, 

and a part by his son, Col. John Stoddard. 

i8. Rev. Solomon Stoddard, minister of the town from 
1(j72 to 1729, (fifty-seven years,) lived on Prospect street, 
where Henry R. Hinckley now lives. His son. Col. John 
Stoddard, succeeded him in occupying that place. Mr. 
Stoddard, Senior, built in 1684 the ell part of Mr. Hinck- 
ley's house as it now stands, and Col. John Stoddard built 
the main part. This is one of the oldest houses in town, 
as it dates back about 200 years, and a part of it 220 
years. 



A liome lot was granted by tlie town to Rev. Solomon 
Stoddard in 1681. It contained four acres of land, and 
was situated on the east side of Round Hill, in the vicinity 
of the junction of Henshaw avenue and Crescent street. 
Mr. Stoddard never built on it, but three years later he 
bought another lot, a little south of the grant, and there 
he built. He and his descendants occupied this house for 
more than a century. The central portion of the house as 
it now stands, is all that remains of the home of Rev. Sol- 
omon Stoddard. The large gambrel-roofed building, in 
front of and adjoining this, was built by his son. Col. John 
Stoddard. The rear part of the house, built by Rev. Solo- 
mon Stoddard, was removed by Dr. Barrett, and made into 
the barn now on the place. Dr. Barrett also built the ell 
in the rear of the present building. 

Close to the central chimney of the ancient house was a 
large open space, under the floor of the second story, 
which, tradition has it, was used as a hiding place from 
the Indians. Tliis place no longer exists. In May, 1S09, 
this house was sold to Seth Wright of Boston, and it de- 
scended to his son, Theodore Wright. It was jnirchased in 
18:57 by Charles C. Nichols of Boston. In 1845, it was 
bought by Dr. Benjamin Barrett and is now occu])ie(l by 
his daughter and her husband, Henry R. Hinckley. 

The accompanying picture presents a tine view of the 
house as it stands to-day. Col. Stoddard was one of the 
most prominent men of the town, and wealthy for his 
times. This accounts for the size and elegance of the main 
structure. The house stands on one of the most command- 
ing residence sites in the town, and is a treasure, both for 
the beauty of its location and for its historical associations. 

ig. Rev. Dr. Gordon Hall, pastor Edwards church 
twenty-eight j^ears, lived in the brick house on the South 
side of Elm street, o|)posite entrance to Prospect street, 
now occupied by Miss Tucker, No. 84. This house was 
owned and occupied in 1780 by Gen. William Lyman, a 
Revolutionary ofhcer and member of congress. 



16 



20. Rev. Solomon Williams, fifth minister, 1778 to 1834, 
(fifty-six years,) lived on King street, where his son. Dea- 
con Eliphalet Williams, lived. This was also the residence 
of Rev. John Hooker, fourth minister of the town. 

21. Judge Joseph Lyman lived on Main street, where 
the Carr block and Carr bakery now stand. House was 
built in 1792, succeeding one that stood there and was 
burned in that year and occupied by Col. William Lyman. 



%' 








RESIDENCE OF JUDGE JOSEPH LYMAN, MAIN STREET. 
Built 1792. Burned 1870. Stood where Carr block now stands. 

22. Gov. Caleb Strong (Governor eleven years and U. 
S. Senator) lived on Main street, where the Hampshire 
House now stands ; his gambrel-roofed house was removed 
to Pleasant street in 1844, where it was occupied by his son, 
Hon. Lewis Strong ; now No. 40. 

23. Judge Samuel Henshaw lived on Elm street, in the 
gambrel-roofed house lately owned and occupied by Sidney 
E. Bridgman and now owned by Bishop F. D. Huntington. 



n 



24. The " Warner House," one of the leading historical 
places of the town, was for several generations the princi- 
pal tavern. Gen. Seth Pomeroy lived there atid kept an 
inn. His son, Asahel Pomeroy, one of the prominent men 
of his times, succeeded him. In 1792 he erected the house 
which for two generations was one of the most familiar 
objects in town. The old house that stood on the same spot 
was destroyed by fire, Oct. 12, 1792. Mr. Pomeroy imme- 
diately rebuilt. In 1821 he sold the house to Oliver War- 
ner, who had kept a tavern on the Bridge road, half a mile 




^ ti\ gl jl gl ^1 J i 
r^'J k' J J Biinl J 






WARNER HOUSE. 

Built by Asahel Pomeroy, 1792. Destroyed by fire, 1870. 

west of Florence, where Seth S. Warner now lives. Mr. 
Warner owned and conducted the tavern twenty-four years, 
until his death in 1853. From him the house took its 
name. Next to the "Old Church" and the court house, 
the "Warner House" was the most famous structure in 
town. There, many public gatherings were held ; there, 
the judges, lawyers and jurors stopped when the courts 
were in session ; there, travellers from far and near found 
a congenial home ; and there, the villagers repaired from 



18 

time to time to gather the news brought in by the stage- 
drivers and the guests of the house. 

25. "Fort hill," off South street, takes its name from 
the building of an Indian fort there prior to 1670. The 
exact location of this fort is not known. " Dwight's Trav- 
els "says it was located "in the heart of the town, at a 
distance perhaps of thirty rods from the most populous 
street." This would locate it on Fort street, on the brow of 
the hill. Trumbull's History locates it "back of the 
Starkweather place." It was abandoned as a fort in 1670. 
The Indians who built it were friendly, and were given 
permission to build the fort by the town. 

26. Gen. Seth Pomeroy, besides keeping a tavern, was a 
blacksmith, and his blacksmith shop stood between his 
house and the corner of Main and Center streets. 

27. Dr. Sylvester (xraham, originator of the Graham 
dietic system, lived on Pleasant street, in the brick house, 
west side, now No. 61. Hon. Eli P. Ashraun, U. S. Sena- 
tor, lived in that house before Dr. Graham. 

28. Erastus Hopkins, ten years a representative in the 
state legislature, lived on King street, house next north 
of the French Catholic church. 

29. Tliomas Napier lived on Elm street, in the house 
that now forms a part of the Mary A. Burnham classical 
school for girls. Another building used by this school is 
the Colonial-front house on Prospect street, built by Judge 
Samuel Howe and in which he lived. 

30. Samuel Whitmarsh built the house on Fort hill, 
since owned and occupied as a summer residence by Ed- 
ward H. R. Lyman and his son, Frank Lyman. His 
brother, Thomas Whitmarsh, built the house lately owned 
and occupied by Lucien B. Williams and now by his son, 
Col. H. L. Williams. 

31. John Clarke, founder of Clarke Institute for Deaf 
Mutes, lived on Bridge street ; house now forms a part of 
Norwood hotel. 



19 



32. Rev. Jonathan Edwards lived on King street, where 
the brick house built by Josiah D. Whitney now stands, 
and the large elm tree that stands in front is one of two 
elms set by him and long known as the "Jonathan Ed- 
wards elms." A picture of one of these elms is given 
herewith. 




THE JONATHAN EDWARDS ELM. 

Set by Rev. Jonathan Edwards, 1730. House of Josiah D. Whitney 

on the right stands on site of the Edwards house. 

33. " Bartlett's gate," at the foot of Pleasant street, in 
use when the meadows were fenced in, was near the pres- 
ent Harlow house. 



20 

34- Judge Charles A. Dewey, judge of Mass. supreme 
court, lived on College liill, where President Seelj^e's house 
now stands ; house was moved back and converted into a 
dormitory, and is now known as the "Dewey House." 

35. Judge Samuel F. Lyman, judge of Probate court, 
lived on College hill, where the principal college building 
now stands ; house was moved to Canal street, and is now 
No. 35. 

36. Major Joseph Hawley lived on Hawley street, on 
site of house now No. 104, known as the "Burrows place." 
His house was a low building ; the front door was fastened 
with a wooden latch and a leather latch-string hung out- 
side. 

37. Isaac C. Bates, U. S. senator, lived on Bridge street, 
where the J. Stebbins Lathrop house now stands ; his 
house was removed to Noith street, and is now owned and 
occupied by Mrs. Henry Roberts. 

38. Samuel Bartlett built a grist-mill in lOiJT on the 
west side of Manhan river in what is now Easthampton, 
and Joseph Parsons had a saw-mill on the opposite shore. 
There have been grist and saw mills there ever since. 

39. Halligan and Dailey were hung, June 5, 180G, on 
" Gallows Plain," now Hospital Hill, in presence of 15,000 
people ; Gen. Ebenezer Mattoon of Amherst, high sheriff, 
officiated, 

40. Tlie "pound," for impounding stray animals, was 
at the lower end of Pleasant street, and is still owned by 
the city, though not used in the last fifty years. 

41. The semi-circular stepstone used at the front en- 
trance to the meeting-house in which Jonathan Edwards 
preached, is now in use at the front entrance to Christo- 
pher Clarke's house, No. 40, Hawley street. 

42. Stocks for punishing criminals stood at the junction 
of Main and King streets. They were not much used. 



21 

43- Gnide-boards, set in triangular form on three posts, 
stood in the fork of the roads at the junction of Main and 
King- streets, and a little north of these guide-boards were 
two large elm trees, underneath which were for many 
years a set of hay-scales for public use. 

44. Just below the old South street bridge over Mill 
river there was a crossing on the bed of the river, called 
the "Lickingwater crossing." The banks of the river on 
either side sloped gently to the edges of the stream, and 
this was the principal public watering place in town for 
about two hundred years. It was closed to the public 
when the dike was built in 185G. 




OLD MANSION HOUSE, ON COLLEGE HILL, 

As it appeared when kept by Capt. Jonathan Brewster, 1840. 

45. The "Oxbow," known in later years as the "Old 
Bed," was until 1840 the route of the Connecticut river. 
In that year, the high water in a spring freshet cut across 
the narrow neck east of the railroad and formed the pres- 
ent channel of the river. In going four and a half miles 
by a direct line the river by the " Oxbow" route ran nearly 
eleven miles. 



22 

46. The storehouse for frei^i^lit sent and received on the 
New Haven and Northampton canal is still standing and is 
nsed by Warren's livery stable. The canal ran under Main 
street beneath an arched stone bridge and came close to 
this storeliouse. The shed now seen on the east side was 
not there when the canal was in use. The three iron hooks 
under the eaves used for hoisting and lowering freight are 
there now. 

47. This canal was carried across Mill river by means of 
an aqueduct, and ran along the side of the hill west of 
South street. The canal was opened for business in 1836, 
and closed in 1847. It cost 1980,000, all of which was a 
total loss. 

48. The first jail in town was built in 1707 and stood on 
the corner of Main and South streets, near where Rahar's 
Inn now stands. It was sold in 1760, aud for twelve years 
there was no jail here. In 1773 a jail was built of logs on 
Pleasant street. The notorious Stephen Burroughs of Pel- 
ham was confined there in 1786 and was chained to the 
floor after attempting to break out. In 1801, a new jail, 
built of stone, was erected on the site of the old one, and 
in 1853 the present jail on Union street was comi)leted. 

49- Shepherd's Island in the Connecticut river below 
"OKI Rainbow " began to form about 1729. In 1754 it con- 
tained six or seven acres, about half of which was fit for 
cultivation. It was formed by accumulations of soil and 
sand brought down by the spring freshets. It was sold at 
"public vendue" in 1770 by order of the legislature and 
purchased by Solomon Stoddard for 100 pounds. In 1803, 
Levi Shepherd, Jr., bought it for $1200, and it has since 
been known as "Shepherd's Island." It now contains 
about fifteen acres and is owned by the Mt. Tom Lumber 
Co. The money paid for it in 1803 went to the county and 
was used to build a bridge in Ware. 

50. The first mill in town was a grist-mill, built in 1658 ; 
it stood on the north bank of Mill river, just west of the 
gas-works. 



23 



51. The '' Hunt house," a fine old gambrel-roofed struc- 
ture, stood on Main street, east of the first Edwards church, 
where the Hampshire County Bank building now stands. 
It was built by Deacon Ebenezer Hunt in 1770 and stood 
exactly one hundred years, being destroyed by fire in 1870. 
In it lived three generations of Hunts — Deacon Ebenezer 
Hunt, Dr. Ebenezer Hunt, and Dr. David Hunt. 




HUNT HOUSE AND EDWARDS CHURCH. 
House biiilt 1770, burned 1870. Church Built 1833, burned 1870. 

52. Mill river originally ran around Fort hill and emp- 
tied into " Danks's pond," near the lower end of South 
street. It was changed to run from lower Pleasant street 
directly to the Connecticut river in 1710. In digging wells 
in Maple street, near the round house built by Seth Strong, 
large logs were found at a depth of twelve to fifteen feet 
and bright gravel, showing that the river once ran at that 
place. 



24 

53' El well's Island, just above the Connecticut river 
bridges, took its name from Levi Elwell, who lived near 
it. It began to form about seventy years ago, and for some 
years was only a sand-bar. Mr. Elwell used to put willow 
twigs in the edges of the banks on the upper side and that 
caused the sand-bar to enlarge. He was the first man to 
plant anything on this island. It now contains about 
twenty-five acres of land suitable for cultivation, most of 
which is in grass. A ferry-boat is used to convey teams 
and the crops by means of a wire. The island is owned by 
Frank R. Elwell and Spencer Clark. 

54. A small park, oblong in shape, about 125 by 40 feet, 
was made in Main street in 1844, of soil taken from the 
Governor Strong lot when the Connecticut river railroad 
was built. Elm and maple trees were set in it, a low rail- 
ing inclosed it, and a flag-staff stood in the middle. Its 
center was opposite the west entrance to the old savings 
bank. It was made by the contributions of the Shop Row 
merchants and others. In 1867, the town having outgrown 
its presence, it was removed by order of the selectmen. 

55. The first burials in town were made on "meeting- 
house hill," and in 1662 the burial-ground was established 
on the " Plain" near Bridge street, where it has remained 
ever since. 

56. The present Main street along Shop Row did not 
begin to assume its present shape until ITtj'J. The princi- 
pal road to tlie top of " meeting-liouse hill" was on the 
northerly side, in the rear of the present court-house. 
The hill was quite abrupt on the easterly side. 

57. Judge Forbes had his office and living rooms on the 
third floor of Judge Sterling's block, next west of the First 
church, over the banking rooms of the Northampton bank 
and Northampton Institution for Savings. 

58. In September, 1675, two men were shot and scalped 
by Indians near their homes in Paradise while chopping 
wood. 



25 



59- 111 the early years of the town's settlement the 
meadows were fenced in and used in the late season as a 
" common field " for pasturing. The fence ran from the 
present Connecticat river bridge along the bluffs off Bridge 
street to South street bridge, and thence to the outlet of 
Manhan river at the base of Mt. Tom. 

00. The high school for boys stood where the present 
Center street grammar school house now stands. For 
many years it was the only building on the ground between 
Main and Park streets and Gothic and State sti'eets. 




THE GREAT ELM IREE 
In Middle Meadow, its trunk i:!! feet in circumference. 

6i. In October of the year 1675 a body of Indians 
attacked seven or eight men who were at work in Pynchon 
meadow ; the men escaped and one Indian was shot and 
killed. The Indians then attacked the settlers on South 
street, bnrning four houses and four barns. These houses 
stood on what is now known as the Starkweather place, 
the two home-lots to. the south, and one on the opposite 
side of the road. 



26 

62. At the foot of Pleasant street, on the northerly side 
of the road, a little west of the railroad, stood the freight- 
house of Capt, David Strong. Freight was brought up 
Mill river in times of high water. When the water was 
low the freight came to Hockanum ferry, and there was a 
freight-house on the west bank. David Strong and his 
son, David Strong, Jr., were the captains. Most of the 
freight to Northampton came by boat from Boston to Hart- 
ford, thence up the Connecticut river, through the canal 
at South Hadley Falls. This boating business disappeared 
about 1840. The old freight-house on Pleasant street re- 
mained there many years afterward. It was a long, low 
wooden building, facing lengthwise to the street, and stood 
close to the street. 

63. The bank robbers, Robert Scott and James Dunlap, 
used the attic of one of the two one-story brick school 
houses that stood near the Bridge street entrance to the. 
cemetery, as their rendezvous while planning the robbery 
of the Northampton National Bank in January, 1876, On 
the night of the 26th they entered the house of Cashier 
John Whittelsey on Ehn street, now No. 184, bound and 
gagged the inmates and tortured the cat^hipr. The bank 
which they robbed of securities valued at I? 1,500, 000, was 
in Judge Sterling's block, on the west corner of Main and 
Center streets. The plunder from the bank was secreted 
in the school-house, where it remained about two weeks, 
when the robbers returned and carried it off by way of 
Amherst. 

64. In 1677 the meeting-house was ordered to be forti- 
fied, and it was surrounded with a line of palisades similar 
to that which inclosed the central part of the town. 

65. Southampton was the first part of the original town 
of Northampton to be set off. It was incorporated as the 
" First Precinct " in 1741. Its first minister was Rev. Jon- 
athan Judd, settled in 1743, died in 1803, after a pastorate 
of sixty years. The first meeting-house was erected in 
1752, and stood thirty-six years. 



27 

66. Westhampton was incorporated as a town in 1778. 
The first minister was Rev. Enoch Hale, settled in 1778; 
he died in 1837, in the fifty-eighth year of his pastorate. 
The first meeting-house was erected in 1784. 

67. Easthampton became a town in 1785, Its first min- 
ister was Rev. Pay son Williston, settled in 1789, retired in 
1833 after a ministry of fortj^-four years, and died in 185(3, 
aged ninety-two years. The first church was organized in 
1785, and the first meeting-house erected the same year ; 
the house stood fifty-one 3^ears. Williston seminary was 
opened in 1841, and the first button factory in town was 
built in 1818. 




EDWIN KINGSLEY HOUSE AND BLACKSMITH SHOP. 

House built 1793, torn down 1850. 

68. The first bridge over Mill river at the "Licking- 
water " crossing was built in 1673. It was repaired and im- 
proved in 1G98 and a new bridge built in 1794. In 1842 a 
covered bridge was erected. This bridge remained in use 
until the new boulevard bridge was built in 1891, when it 
went to decay and was partly consumed by an incendiary 
fire ou the night preceding a fourth of July. 



28 

69. On May 13, 1704, occurred the great massacre at 
Pascomniuck. Early in the morning a body of Frencli and 
Indians attacked the settlement of five families between 
Mt. Tom and the Manhan river near its outlet into the 
Connecticut. The inhabitants of the hamlet were easily 
overpowered and thirty-seven of them were taken captive. 
Capt. John Taylor, who with a troop of horsemen pursued 
the Indians, overtook them a few miles to the south on 
their way to Westfield. The Indians then killed all but 
half a dozen of the captives. Capt. Taylor w^as shot and 
killed. He left a wife and eleven children. His house was 
on the lot afterward occupied by the Judge Joseph Lyman 
homestead on our Main street. 

70. A palisade, made of strong stakes driven into the 
ground, was erected about the most thickly settled part of 
the town in 1075, for protection against the Indians. This 
palisade was assaulted a few months after it was built. At 
daybreak on the morning of March 13, 1G7(J, a body of In- 
dians, estimated to number 500, fell upon the settlement 
from the north. They broke through the palisade at lower 
Pleasant street. One house was burned within the fortifi- 
cations and four houses outside. There was a garrison of 
seventy-eight men inside, and such resistance was made 
that the Indians soon retreated. Four settlers and a girl 
were killed, and fifteen to twenty Indians. 

71. A saw-mill was built in Leeds, then calletl the " Rail 
Hill district," in 1800. In 1808 a cotton-mill took its place. 
In 1812 Col. James Shepherd erected a woolen-mill below 
the cotton-mill and the latter was soon connected with it. 
The place was then for forty years known as "Shepherd's 
Hollow." The Northampton Woolen Mfg. Co. succeeded 
and Stephen Brewer and Thomas Musgrave were success- 
ively its agents. Henry Clay stopped at this mill when he 
visited Northampton in 1833 and was presented with a roll 
of broadcloth made by this company as a sample of the 
product of American industry. Leeds is now one of the 
centers of the Nonotuck Silk Mfg. Co.'s industries. 



29 

72. In IfiSO tlie town ordered the palisades to be repaired 
and in 1G89 they were enlarged. The town ordered that 
married persons should build three rods of palisade each 
and single persons two rods. The western line of this for- 
tification ran from the rear of the principal college build- 
ing and President Seelye's house to Miss Tucker's (formerly 
Rev. Gordon Hall's), thence to Henshaw avenue, and 
thence to the west of H. R. Hinckley's house on Prospect 
street. It probably inclosed West street and extended east- 
erly as far as the burial-ground. Its length was over two 
miles. 




OLD WRIGHT HOUSE 

On Bridi^e street, built IBoS, the oldest house in town. 

73, The house shown in the above picture is believed to 
be the oldest house now standing in Northampton. It has 
been altered since it was built by the addition of two side 
wings and a change in the roof in the rear, which origi- 
nally sloped nearly to the ground. It stands on what was 
a part of the home lot of Cornet Joseph Parsons, which 



embraced all the laud between Bridge and Market streets 
that fronted on Bridge street on the south. It was built 
in 1658 by Mr. Parsons soon after his arrival in town, and 
it is supposed that he kept an inn there, as he was licensed 
to keep a house of entertainment. It was hekl in the Par- 
sons family until 1807, when it passed into the possession 
of Dauiel Wright and his wife, Chloe Lyman, and has re- 
mained in possession of their descendants ever since. Dau- 
iel Wright was postmaster of the town twenty-five years, 
aud his son, Ferdinand Hunt Wright, who succeeded his 
father in occupying the house, also served as postmaster 
and was the first cashier of the Hampshire Bank. His 
daughter, Miss Anna Wright, now occupies the house. 

74. The streets of the town did not bear their present 
names until 1826, when they were named by a committee 
appointed by tlie town. Some of them had been desigua- 
ted by the name of some prominent resident on the street, 
and others bore nicknames. Hawley street went by the 
name of ''Pudding lane;"' Elm street was called "New 
Boston ; " West street to Hospital hill bore the name of 
'■' Welch End ;" Pleasant street bore the name of the gate- 
keeper, "BartletL's lane ;" South street was called " Lick- 
ingwater;'' and Park street "Stoddard's lane." Other 
localities were known by such names as these: — North 
Elm street as " Abner Hunt's;" Florence as "Paul 
Strong's ; " fork of the roads to Leeds and Williamsburg 
as " Sol Warner's ;" near Williamsburg line east of Hay- 
denville as " Cap'n Fairfield's ;" Roberts Meadow as " Nat 
Edwards's;" Leeds as "Shepherd's Hollow," and before 
that as "Rail Hill." 

75. A grist-mill was built on the east side of Mill river, 
where Maynard's hoe-shop now stands, in 1677, and a road 
opened to it. This was called the "Upper mill," and the 
mill below was called the "Lower mill." These names 
were in common use for two hundred years. Some years 
later a grist-mill and a saw-mill were built on the west 
bank of the " Upper mill " water-fall aud a bridge leading 
to them was built below the dam. 



31 

76. The house of Chauiicey E. Parsons, shown in the 
picture, stands on the westerly side of Bridge street, facing 
the common, and was built by Isaac Parsons in 1744, the 
year of his marriage. It has been occupied by Isaac Par- 
sons, Josiah Parsons, Lyman Parsons, and Chauncey E. 
Parsons. There has been no material change in the house 
since its erection 160 years ago, and only descendants of the 
builder and first occupant have ever lived in it. It stands 
on what was originally a part of the farm of Cornet Joseph 




THE CHAUNCEY E. PARSONS HOUSE 

On Bridge street, built 1744, occupied by the Parsons family 160 years. 

Parsons, purchased by him in 1074, and extended fi-om 
Bridge street to Market street. The farm has been owned 
and occupied by Parsons families 230 years. 

77. The town was without a bell in the meeting-house 
for thirty-six years. Meetings had been announced by the 
use of a drum or trumpet. 



32 

78. In the years arouDd 1850 the water-cure treatment 
was much in vogue here. Dr. Charles Munde had a water- 
cure establishment in Florence, west of Mill river, opposite 
the Brush factory ; he was preceded there by Dr. David 
Ruggles, a blind colored man, who opened the establish- 
ment in 1845 and died in 1849. The water-cure buildings 
were destroyed by fire Nov. 7, 1865. Dr. Halsted had an 
extensive water cure on Round hill, occupying all of the 
then existing buildings north of the Clarke Institute build- 
ings ; and Dr. Edward E. Denniston had a large establish- 
ment on the west corner of North Elm street, at the junc- 
tion with Prospect street, where Abner Hunt lived seventy- 
five years ago. 

79. The first paper mill in town, which was the first 
manufactory here of any importance, was built by William 
Butler, founder of the Hampshire Gazette. It was loca- 
ted where the Wood cutlery works now stand, at the west- 
erly end of Vernon street, in what has since been known 
as "Paper-mill Village." Mr. Butler made there by hand 
all the paper used in printing the Gazette. As the publi- 
cation of the Gazette was begun Sept. 0, 17SG, it is proba- 
ble that the paper-mill was started at about the same time. 
In 1817 Mr. Butler sold the mill to his brother, Daniel But- 
ler, who kept a store under the printing ofUce. He carried 
on the mill until his death in 1840, when it passed into tlie 
control of William Clark, who, with his sons William and 
Lucius, run it many years, doing a large and profitable 
business. William Butler erected a two-story building for 
his printing ofiice on the east side of Pleasant street. That 
building still stands, much as it was built one hundred 
and eighteen j^ears ago. It stands directly opposite Cook's 
block, now occupied by the Warner Furniture Co. 

80. On the east side of Bridge street, just north of the 
Josiah Parsons house, stood a small brick powder h(nise. 
It was built by John Clarke and other merchants who sold 
powder and used for storing that dangerous commodity. 
It was not much in use after 1850. , 



33 

8i. The picture of the Parsons house on South street, 
near the old bridge, shows one of the oldest houses in town. 
It was built in 1755 by Noah Parsons, Jr., son of Noah 
Parsons, who settled there in 1712. The house is now 
about as it was when built 149 years ago. There have been 
none but members of the Parsons family living on this 
homestead for 192 years. First was Noah Parsons, then 
successively Noah Parsons, Jr., Justus Parsons, Lewis Par- 




THE LEWIS PARSONS HOUSE, 

On South street, built in 1755, and occupied by its builder and his 

descendants 149 years. 

sons, and the present occupant, Lewis D. Parsons. The 
stately elm that stands in front of the house was set in 
1755, the year of his marriage and the year that the house 
was built, by Noah Parsons, Jr. It has stood there 149 
years. Originally there was quite a ravine running in 
front of this house just west of the elm tree and leading to 

3 



34 

the river ; this ravine was partly filled when the dike was 
built in 1856 and entirely filled and the common graded in 
1883. 

82. The lead mines in the west part of the town, near 
Loudville, were discovered in 1078 by Robert Lyman, a 
hunter. These mines created considerable interest in town 
for many years, and many votes relating to them are on 
the town records. A mining company was formed in 1670 ; 
two Boston men became interested and something was 
done in working the mines, but they never yielded any 
profit. In 1863 the mines came into the control of Thomas 
E. Hastings and C. W. Elton, who made considerable stir 
there for about two years, ending in failure and bank- 
ruptcy, 

83. The first railroad to this town, the Connecticut 
River road, was opened in December, 1815. For one year 
cars were run only to Northampton ; the next year the 
road was opened to Greenfield, and in 1849 the road was 
extended to the Vermont line. The second railroad to this 
town, " the Canal road," was opened in 1855. The branch 
line to Williamsburg was opened in 1867. The Massachu- 
setts Central road was opened in 1887. 

84. There was a brick cannon house near the school 
houses on Bridge street, used for storing the cannon be- 
longing to the Northampton artillery company. It stood a 
little to the west of the Bridge street entrance to the ceme- 
tery. It was there in 1840 and 1850. 

85. The first brickyard in town was west of King street 
and between Court and Park streets, opened in 1658. 
Another brickyard was opened in 1684 at the southerly end 
of South street, near where there is one now. 

86. The first inn-keeper in town was John Webb, a 
blacksmith, hunter and land speculator. His house stood 
on the west corner of Main and South streets. 

87. The first court here was held March 24, 1658. Reg- 
ular sessions began in 1661. 



35 

88. The present city hall was completed in 1850. The 
gas-works were ready for business in 185G. The water- 
works were constructed in 1871. The Northampton dike, 
inclosing Maple and Fruit streets, was built in 185G. The 
first street railway was opened here in 1866. The Hamp- 
shire, Franklin and Hampden Agricultural Society was 
organized Jan. 22, 1818, and the first cattle show held Oct. 
14 and 15 of the same year. The building of the North- 
ampton Lunatic Hospital was begun in 1856 and completed 
in 1858. The Smith Charities were established by the will 




OLD TOWN HALL. 

On Court House park, built 1814, torn down 1870. 

of Oliver Smith of Hatfield in 1845. The Clarke Institu- 
tion for Deaf Mutes was established by John Clarke in 
1867. The first public library in town was begun in 1839 
with the formation of a " Book club," and from that have 
grown the two great libraries founded by John Clarke and 
Judge Forbes. The first savings bank in town, the North- 
ampton Institution for Savings, was organized Oct. 1, 1842. 
The Round Hill school for boys was established by George 



36 

Bancroft and Joseph G. Cogswell in 1823 and continned in 
existence fifteen years, having at one time two hundred 
pupils. A law school was opened here in 1823 by Elijah 
H. Mills and Judge Samuel Howe, in the Lyman block, 
next west of the Warner House, continuing six or seven 
years. General Louis Kossuth, the distinguished Hunga- 
rian exile, visited this town in April, 1852, and was given 
a reception in the Old Church ; Hon. Lewis Strong pre- 
sided and the church was crowded. Jenny Lind, the noted 
singer from Sweden, came here in 1851 and gave a concert 
in the Old Church on the night before the 4th of July. 
Again, after her marriage in 1852, she visited Northampton 
and gave a concert in the town hall, the proceeds of $937 
going to various local objects. 

89. The first stage to this town began to run in August, 
1792, when the post-office was established. The line ran 
from Springfield to Dartmouth, N. H. The stage going 
north came once a week, arriving here Monday eV/Cning, 
going as far as Brattleboro, where it met a stage line from 
Dartmouth ; exchanging passengers the stage to Springfield 
arrived here on Thursday. A stage line to and from Bos- 
ton was established in July, 1793. 

90. Round Hill received its name from its shape. The 
first house built on its summit was erected by Thomas 
Shepherd, and soon afterward his brother, Levi Shepherd, 
erected the house next to the north. The fourth house 
was built by Col. James Shepherd. These four houses 
stood there in 1823, when they were sold to Joseph G. 
Cogswell and George Bancroft for their Round Hill School 
for boys. 

91. The Tontine building was in its day a structure of 
note. It stood on the easterly corner of Bridge and Haw- 
ley streets, fronted two hundred feet on Bridge street and 
one hundred on Hawley, and was three stories high. It 
was used as shops for various mechanics and had a dancing 
hall in the third story. It was erected in 1786. There 
must have been a " high old time " when the frame was 



37 

raised, judging by the supplies furnished. There were 
eighteen gallons of rum, four gallons of brandy, thirty 
pounds of loaf sugar, three pounds of brown sugar, ninety- 
nine pounds of beef, thirty-six pounds of veal, Capt. 
Clarke's bill of five pounds eight shillings (probably for 
more rum, as he kept a tavern in the Washburn house close 
by), and cake and cheese. The building was burned in 1816. 

92. Sylvester Judd, antiquarian, historian, compiler of 
the Judd manuscripts, editor of Hampshire Gazette, lived 
on the west corner of Elm street and Paradise road. 




SYLVESTER JUDD. 

Whose historical researches have greatly contributed to the 

success of this celebration. 

93. In 1825 General Lafayette came to Northampton 
and was given a royal reception. He came from Pittsfield 
over the mountains and was met at Roberts Meadow by 
Hon. Joseph Lyman, sheriff; of the county, and a commit- 
tee of citizens, a body of cavalry, and a number of citi- 
zens, and escorted to upper Elm street, where several mili- 
tary companies were ready to greet him. The procession 
came into town amid the noise of cannon and a demonstra- 
tion of joy rarely witnessed. The General alighted at the 



38 

Warner House, where he was introduced to the selectmen. 
Then followed a general reception in Main street by the 
people of the town. The school children were out to greet 
him and flowers were strewn in his pathway. Then he 
stopped at the meeting-house, where he was introduced to 
a large number of ladies. Then came a reception and din- 
ner at the Warner House, Elijah H. Mills presiding. At 
2 o'clock the General started for Boston, being escorted to 
the Connecticut river by the same procession that escorted 
him into town. 

94. These names were given to sections of the meadows 
by the first settlers : — " Old Rainbow " and " Young Rain- 
bow "to the section along the Connecticut river west of 
Shepherd's island; "Walnut Trees," south of "Young 
Rainbow ; " "Venturer's Field," from " Walnut Trees" to 
Pomeroy Terrace; above "Venturer's Field" up to the 
bridge was called " Last Division ; " on the river opposite 
Shepherd's island was "Bark Wigwam;" following the 
Connecticut to the mouth of Mill river was "Middle 
Meadow;" between "Middle Meadow " on the south and 
"Walnut Trees" and "Venturer's Field" on the north 
were "First," "Second" and "Third Squares;" " Man- 
han Meadow," named from Manhan river, embraced all 
now bounded by Mill river on the east, the " Old Bed" on 
the south, and Fort hill on the west ; "Hog's Bladder" 
lay south of the "Old Bed;" " Pynchon's Meadow" (120 
acres) was north of Hulbert's (since known as Danks's) 
Pond. These names are still retained in common use. 

95. Henry Clay visited Northampton in 1833. He was 
then a U. S. senator from Kentucky and came here with 
his wife on a tour of the country. He was met in Spring- 
field by a committee from Northampton, headed by Hon. 
Isaac C. Bates, and escorted into town by a cavalcade of 
citizens. They stopped at the Mansion House and' Mr. 
Clay attended the services in the "Old Church" on Sun- 
day morning and at the Unitarian church in the afternoon. 
The next morning he started for Pittsfield, passing through 



39 

"Shepherd's Hollow/' where the operatives in the woolen 
mill were drawn up in line to greet him. Thence on 
through Roberts Meadow, past "Nat Edwardses," over 
the turnpike, through Worthington, Peru and Pittsfield, to 
Albany. 

96. Florence has had a surprising growth. The first 
settler there was Joseph Warner, near the fork of the road 
to the great bridge, and none but Warners have ever lived 
there. In 1812 there were only seven houses in the place, 
and as late as 1847 the number had increased to only about 
a dozen. The manufacture of silk was one of the first 
enterprises in the place, and to that industry Florence owes 
its prosperity. The mulberry speculation of 1835 to 1845 
was not without good results, as it created Florence. The 
then hamlet was one vast mulberry field ; 400 to 500 acres 
of land were devoted to mulberry culture, under the lead 
of Samuel Whitmarsh. The bubble burst, but its germ 
lived, and one of the most flourishing of New England 
villages is the result. 

97. Cider-mills were common after apple-trees came into 
general cultivation. There was one in 1840 at the entrance 
to Paradise road, owned by Ansel Jewett. The last of 
these mills near the center was at the south end of South 
street, run by Curtis W. Braman. 

98. Smith College, though not an ancient historical in- 
stitution, deserves mention here. It stands on historical 
ground of great interest, where Lieutenant William Clark 
built his log house in 1659. It was founded by Miss 
Sophia Smith of Hatfield in 1870, with an endowment of 
$386,608, to which the town of Northampton added $25,000. 
The college was dedicated July 14, 1875. The first enter- 
ing class numbered thirteen. The college has grown with 
astonishing rapidity until the present number of students 
is upward of eleven hundred. Financially, also, the col- 
lege has been remarkably successful, and that with only a 
few gifts from appreciative friends. President L. Clark 
Seelye has been the head of the institution from the begin- 



40 

ning, and to liis superior coiirise], far-seein,<>' wisdom and 
rare executive abilities the college owes very much of its 
remarkable prosperity. 

99. The " Old Church." There have been twenty meet- 
ing-houses built in Northampton, four of which have been 
destroyed by fire, but no one of them has taken so deep a 
hold of the hearts of the people as the "Old Church" of 
1812-1876. That old meeting-house became a part of the 
life of the town. It was the center around which all else 
revolved. It was affectionately called the "Old Church." 
No other building in town was so much admired, none 
other so much loved. It was a beautiful specimen of arch- 
itecture, and many and sad were the hearts that witnessed 
its destruction in the afternoon of June 27, 187G. 

100. In the last sixty years the center of the town has 
been almost wholly changed. Hardly a building remains 
just as it was in 1844. With three or four exceptions, 
every church edifice, every public building, every store and 
shop, and every house, on Main street, have been entirely 
rebuilt, and enlarged, or altered so as to lose their old-time 
appearance. The exceptions are the Holley house and 
barn, canal store-house, Dr. Higbee's house, and Butler's 
old printing-office and store building on the east side of 
Pleasant street. Dr. Higbee's house has been modernized 
in its appearance so that George Bennett, its old-time occu- 
pant, would hardly recognize it, and an addition has been 
made to the east side of the canal store-house. George 
Bancroft, the historian and founder of the Round Hill 
school, should he walk these streets again, would not know 
where he was. The old landmarks, once so familiar to 
him, have disappeared ; and the people, his associates in 
the years of his prime, who listened with so much pleasure 
to the charm of his eloquence, they also are gone. 



The date of the erection of the Whitney building, given under the 
frontispiece as " 1815, "" is wrong. The building was erected in 1810, by 
Josiah D. Whitney, who kept a store there. 

On page four, the name " Sidney B. Bridgman" should be Sidney E. 
Bridgman, our well-known bookseller, and the longest in service here 
of all our business men — sixty consecutive years on one spot. 



